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Without the old-guard Trek cast, a great deal of the franchise's future relies on Stewart's continued participation. ''He's extremely important,'' Berman says. ''Could we do without him? Probably. Would we want to? I don't think so.'' But unlike, say, William Shatner, who built his career around Trek (unless, of course, you're counting T.J. Hooker), Stewart sees himself as a Serious Actor and is currently linked to five non-Trek projects. Moreover, Stewart has refused to be photographed in his Trek captain's costume in the past, and when he was acting in a Broadway version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, he reportedly promised to fire anyone from the production staff who called him Picard.

Stewart denies the story. ''It's true that in the early days I was irritated by continually being referred to as Captain,'' he admits, ''but I learned to see that as a compliment eventually, and he's a character I'm happy to be identified with. If he was a scumbag, that would be another matter.'' But what about speculation that he's ready to beam out of costume? His answer is at least one thing that can make Paramount breathe easier. ''The general suspicion,'' he says, ''is that at any moment Patrick Stewart is going to hand in his communicator. That is simply not true. If I can help keep this populist commercial franchise going while continuing to have a varied and rich career elsewhere in other movies, theater, and so forth, I'll be very happy.''

Other concerns remain, of course. Even First Contact's producer wonders whether the entire enterprise is suffering from overexposure. ''I think certain elements of the franchise could use a rest to let people take a deep breath,'' says Berman. ''Depending on what market you're in, you can watch Star Trek, you can watch Star Trek: The Next Generation, you can watch Deep Space Nine and Voyager on the air in the same week.'' Not to mention the screensavers and lunch boxes and wristwatches and collector's plates and on and on. ''It gets to be a little much,'' Berman says. Stewart puts it more bluntly: ''There's something slightly indecent about it.''

The plan now is to pace the release of the Trek movies a bit differently. ''I think we're going to go a little longer than two years between movies,'' Berman says. Adds Stewart, ''You need to build an expectation for these films, particularly since [the Generation] cast is no longer seen in new shows on television each week.'' Still, it's clear that the TV shows continue to have an impact on what happens on the big screen. Like previous Trek films, First Contact shrewdly incorporates many of the most popular elements from the various small-screen incarnations: time travel, visits to Earth, and the wildly popular body-snatching Borg villains. ''Nothing's brandnew as much as heightened in the movie,'' Zimmerman says.

And Berman remains optimistic that Gene Roddenberry's original philosophy will deliver the franchise in good stead well into the 21st century. ''Roddenberry created a vision of the future that was really a very uplifting one,'' he says. ''He saw Star Trek as a way to show what man's abilities could be, at their best, in the future. The messages of equality and justice and tolerance were the important things. Space was only a backdrop to make those messages seem cool and action packed. If we stick with that idea, Star Trek will continue to be science fiction in the best sense.'' It should also be noted, despite the uncertain fate of some Trek products, that lunch boxes are back in style.


Posted Nov 22, 1996 | Published in issue #354 Nov 22, 1996 | Order Article Reprints
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